SACRAMENTO, CA – U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina today issued the following statement urging Barbara Boxer and her colleagues in the U.S. Senate to pass an amendment temporarily changing the biological opinion that has invoked the Endangered Species Act and turned off the Delta pumps:

“Over the last few years, 400,000 acres of farmland have been fallowed, permanent crops have been uprooted and tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs due to the lack of water in the Central Valley. The current situation demands immediate passage of an amendment to temporarily suspend the biological opinion that turned off the Delta pumps. California’s farmers and farm workers cannot afford to have such critical action caught up in the politics of the jobs package. That said, I appreciate Senator Feinstein’s recognition of the disastrous effects the biological opinion is having on the Central Valley. The question remains: Will Senator Boxer join her in standing up for the people of California?”

Senator Feinstein has sponsored an amendment to temporarily suspend the biological opinion that invoked the Endangered Species Act and shut off the water flow to the Central Valley. Fiorina has consistently urged [1] Boxer to demonstrate the same interest in protecting Californians by supporting such an amendment as head of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Despite her willingness to help the State of New Mexico when it faced a similar situation in 2003, Boxer continually refuses to bring relief to Valley families, communities and businesses, instead prioritizing the needs of a small fish called the Delta smelt.